The Underground Explorers
by Falruza Black
Summary: A group of friends gather again to go sewer exploring, taking a couple new friends with them this time. Their adventure takes an unexpected turn deep beneath the city.
1. The Gang

**I had a small group of friends back in high school who would all go sewer exploring with me. My house was up against against a wash that ran through the center of the valley and so it was easy to access the tunnels any time we wanted. We always wore our black and white converse shoes (they air-dried easy and had decent grip and flexibility), flannels tied around our waist (we could use them for warmth or arm covering), hats (protection from dangling cobwebs and low ceilings), and jeans (durable). We carried flashlights with us, skateboards (help with maneuvering), food (for lunch breaks), knives (for protection), and paper & pen (to map the place out). We mapped out at least three cities in that valley over the course of a couple years and laughed our asses off a few times with false scares. To dry off, we'd lay in the hot sun on the slanted concrete walls of the wash just outside of a tunnel entrance. We were lucky never to be seen, caught, or attacked, but it was one of the best moments of my life. And yeah...I kept hoping that maybe we'd bump into a ninja turtle or two down there. Maybe one day... ;)**

**So, here you go, the start of what I hope to be a fun story based on my experience and dreams.**

**I hope you enjoy it!**

**Much love, Falruza Black**

**The Underground Explorers**

Chapter 1 - "The Gang"

"So, right after 4th period?" Adrian asked, his hands in the pockets of his relaxed, faded jeans.

"Yeah." Michelle smiled back, and turned to go head to her class, the school bell's 2 minute warning beckoning.

Popping the last of his lunch in his mouth, the crumbs left from a bag of Sun Chips, Adrian ran off in the opposite direction, waving to her as she threw him one last grinning nod over her shoulder.

High school was a blast and an early day was always icing on the cake. Three fights during lunch and new graffiti on the north quad lockers gave the students something to talk about excitedly as their teacher attempted to quiet them down.

Michelle set her backpack down by her desk and dropped her heavy Economics book onto it, opening it to some place in the middle, unsure of where they'd be in it today.

Something hit the back of her dangling hand.

The teacher's back to her, focused on the board and itinerary, Michelle leaned down to the ground and picked up the note that had been chucked at her.

"T.U.E. meetup at 3pm - your house as start & gear up point - and can you help me with my math homework today?" It was written all in a code made up of picture symbols that would make a stick man proud, signed "The best person in the world who wants to hire you as the second best, Jennifer."

Michelle laughed once out loud, then shut her mouth, glancing up at the teacher for a sign that she was heard. Luckily, the teacher was now across the room talking with another student who'd had a question.

She pulled out a pen and flipped the paper over, writing in code on the back. "Yeah, bring the usual. I'll have the food for everyone this time. We'll do your math work afterwards." She signed it, "Already has the job of best person in the galaxy but willing to offer you better pay for second best, Michelle-A-Mondo."

Rolling the note back across the ground to her friend Jennifer, who sat behind her by a few seats. She re-focused on the teacher, glancing at the clock as she wished for time to fly.

Behind her, she heard the low guffaw of her friend as she had obviously read the note's signature.

With the teacher back at her own desk, head down going over paperwork, Michelle dared to steal a glance over her shoulder, giving Jennifer a beaming, wicked grin and wink, nodding slowly to verify that yes, she had indeed one-upped her friend's title.

Going back to their work, Michelle could hear the sound of paper tearing softly behind her, as a new note was started. Chuckling quietly to herself, eagerly awaiting what her friend would send her next in their new game of titles, she tried to focus on the rest of her class work.

The bell sounded!

"We're free! We're free!" Michelle and Jennifer jumped up, throwing their books and notes back into their backpacks, and ran out from between the rows of desks toward the door.

The bright, warm sun and cool, late winter breeze made their smiles enormous as they laughed, running down the grassy dip toward the main quad, where most of the students met up before leaving for home or making plans to go elsewhere.

They skidded to a halt beneath their favorite tree and meeting spot, dead center of the social area.

"So, who else is going with us? Same as before? Anyone new?" Jennifer asked, dropping her heavy backpack and pulling out a pack of bubble gum from one of its zipper pockets.

"The usual, Adrian, Matt and Aaron. But Adrian said he had some interest from a couple others, so we'll see. He'll be here in a sec."

In the distance, a familiar profile with shoulder-length, soft dark-brown hair and a pale green, fitted shirt was bouncing down the shallow hill heading for the girls with someone else following him.

Adrian slowed his pace before reaching them and brushed his long bangs away from his eyes, giving a charming smile. He held his sporty blue backpack in one hand, letting it dangle. It apparently didn't have anything too heavy in it at the moment.

"You guys don't know Joey. He's from my Shakespeare class but he's totally into this kind of thing."

Joey was all grins and energy, matching Adrian's height, honey skin tone, slender physique, and unique character. His short, black hair was parted in the center, styled similarly to Adrian's; his bangs falling occasionally into his eyes. He was only a few inches taller than Adrian (who was something over 5 and half feet tall himself), Michelle surmised.

The long, black trench coat seemed a bit too big for him. He reminded Jennifer of a little boy who'd discovered his dad's favorite stylish coat and wore it for fun, rather than for intimidation.

"I love exploring!" Joey nodded, his hands holding onto the straps of his backpack casually, which he didn't seem to be ready to set down any time soon.

"Have you ever been inside the sewer system?" Michelle asked, raising a brow.

"No! And it sounds like so much fun!" Joey piped.

"Well, let's get going!" Jennifer offered a piece of gum to each of them before stuffing it back in her backpack and slinging it back over her shoulders.

"Didn't you say there were others coming too?" Joey asked, eyes wide, his trench coat swirling at his ankles.

"Yeah, they'll meet us at the gate. They've been hanging around this one chick who just got her classic Mustang revamped by her parents for her birthday a few days ago. They like to drool over the engine.", Michelle chuckled beginning to walk alongside Jennifer, Adrian and Joey following.

Birds chirped from the branches above them, coming from the trees planted at intervals along the campus walkways. Jennifer was thankful that they didn't go to the new high-school that had been built over the hill. It look liked like a prison with it's high-end fence and lack of nature. Who cared about the cool campus television broadcasting system it had when all around you was asphalt and barrack-looking classrooms.

"There they are." Adrian pointed to the parking lot as they neared the gate.

Passing through the open gate, they stepped out into a musical dance club of sorts. Students hung out around cars socializing or cheering as they listened to the radio sports announcers giving the latest scores. Others danced and skated near the open doors of vehicles with their speakers blasting the latest punk or rave music. A few sat inside their vehicle passing around illegal substances and glancing around with fearless eyes. Some students just bolted to their cars without a word, taking off.

"Hey, Michelle! Hey guys!" Aaron shouted over the engine of the newly painted, red and black, 1965 Ford Mustang convertible that he and Matt were hovering over.

"Heya! So what's new?" Jennifer yelled back walking up to the open hood to crowd around it with the others.

"Not much, just the usual." Matt responded, then swung around to the car's owner. "Man! I love this car. You are so lucky!" The owner just nodded slowly, smiling as if she'd heard it a million times, which she probably had from these two. At least she was patient and understanding, aside from the tinge of pride she couldn't help but show on her face whenever people complimented her vehicle. Yeah, she liked the attention.

"The engine is just...awwwwww..." Aaron purred, eyes rolling back as he leaned down to hug the car's fender.

"Right, well while he's doing that?" Michelle laughed. "What say we head out before it gets too late?"

Aaron jumped up recovering, "Sorry! Yeah! I'm good for it. Ready to go, Matt?"

"I'm ready." They grabbed their backpacks.

"Let's do it then." Michelle and Jennifer turned to start walking, when a soft voice behind them made them turn back.

"Can I come?" It was the car's owner.

"Uh..." Aaron and Matt had never really talked or hung out with her before when it wasn't car related and they stared like they had just seen a cat fly.

"Maybe. Do you mind being in a sewer?" Michelle asked bluntly with a smirk.

The car's owner shook her head. "I dunno. What are you guys gonna do?"

Jennifer started to reply when Joey interrupted, "Explore! It's gonna be awesome!"

"Oh. Well, I've never done it before. Doesn't it smell down there? Aren't there dangerous homeless people or gangsters down there? Dead bodies?"

Aaron and Matt kept staring.

"Well, it doesn't really smell all that bad, actually. More like metallic, musty, water with a hint of soggy lettuce. Occasionally a bad smell passes by, but it doesn't last long." Michelle answered with a shrug.

"There might be people down there too. That's why we bring knives and Jennifer brings a can of mace too. A Swiss Army knife works good, if you have one." Adrian added.

"If we see a dead body, we can totally tell the cops!" Joey chimed in. "We'd be heroes! So there's nothing to worry about." His grin seemed to be exploding on his face.

"Oh. But what about animals?"

"Naw, there's only rodents down there and the occasional raccoon, but they run from us before we even get near them." Michelle answered.

"Do I need anything in particular, aside from a knife?"

They were all a bit pleasantly surprised that she seemed cool with it so far.

Michelle peered into the back of her mustang, checking to see if she had any gear with her but couldn't tell. The black interior looked clean. "Well, bring a hat, a light jacket, like a flannel, if you have one, shoes you don't care too much about, cuz they'll get wet, and a flashlight. I'm the one providing the food this time."

"Okay. I have that stuff under my seat actually. I don't care about the boots I'm wearing that much too. I mean, I can dry them off when we're done."

They glanced down seeing partially hidden combat boots from beneath the legs of her jeans.

"Cool!", Jennifer and Michelle nodded to each other and then to Adrian who also approved.

"So, what's your name?" Michelle asked.

"Sarah. And you guys are?..." She extended her hand to each of them who in turn gave their own names.

"Adrian. Cool to meet you!"

"Joey! This is gonna be so great! I'm totally new too and-" He was cut off.

"Aaron. Nice to meet you...uh...Sarah, right?" Aaron grinned, looking at her with blue eyes framed in shoulder-length blond hair.

"Yeah." She chuckled.

"You never got her name?" Michelle smacked the back of Aaron's head who gave her a sheepish glance and shrugged in admittance.

Michelle glared at Matt who was in the process of shaking Sarah's hand. "Matt, I-"

"You didn't either, did you." Michelle stated, shaking her head at both of them. "All this time you guys give her hell hanging around her car every day and you never even introduced yourselves. Sheesh!"

Everyone started laughing except for Aaron and Matt, who just smiled awkwardly.

"Do you guys want a drive to wherever we're going?" Sarah asked with a smile.

"Gggg-uh-uh-" Aaron stammered.

"Y-you can DO that?" Matt squeeled, excitement building.

"That's so frickin' cool!" Aaron suddenly blurted out, startling her.

"That would be so awesome of you, Sarah." Michelle smiled.

"Yeah, thanks! It's a mile walk and time lost without your offer." Jennifer added and then turned her head as she heard the sound of the car doors opening, blinking as she noticed the sudden addition of two new people inside the car.

Sitting in the back seat with huge grins, Aaron and Matt waited like dogs for their owner to take them to the beach.

"I guess we'd better get going before those two die of excitement." Sarah laughed.

Everyone moved toward the doors, sliding in, packing in tight. Joey stood on the outside of the car whimpering, trying to figure out how to fit himself in before Jennifer grabbed him by his shirt and pulled, making him fall over the laps of the back-seaters. "Stay down." She ordered him.

Aaron and Matt wiggled their knees, trying to get comfortably and failing.

"Ouch! Guys stop- Hey!" Joey squirmed as their knees hit him in the face.

Sarah was last to enter the vehicle, closing her door. "Alright guys. Seat belts on and doors closed." She was squished next to Michelle and Adrian in the front.

"Good thing I didn't buy a two seater sport edition of this car." Sarah mumbled incredulously, peering at the crowded back seat from her rearview mirror. Matt met her glance for a moment with big green eyes, grinning from beneath his dyed, red, spikey hair.

Sighing, her engine already ready to go, she put the car in first gear, shifting her feet from clutch to gas.

At the first sign of motion, Aaron and Matt melted, gripping the door handle or their own legs, whichever was closer. "Dude!" They shouted in unison. "We're moving!"

Jennifer and Michelle laughed at them; their excitement having an addictive quality on all the car's occupants.

Joey said something, but it was muffled by the jolt of the car over a speed bump as it left the parking lot.

"What was that, Joey?" Jennifer asked, peering down at his hip, which was her only good view of him at the moment, barely making out the side of his face which was pressed between the driver's seat and the crazy guys' shins.

"I said...err...this is cool."

Jennifer threw her head back, laughing. "You rock, Joey. Just hold on my friend. We'll be there soon." She grinned down at him, patting his hip assuredly.

As the houses and trees flew by, only a few traffic lights stopping them, they cheerfully and thankfully made the best time in their history of school escapes. Granted it had been an early day, and no one had ditched this time (which they all occasionally had the habit of doing), it still made them feel the brisk slap of promising adventure more-so than ever before.

"Thanks again for the ride, Sarah." Michelle said as they pulled up in front of her house at last, Sarah having taken her directions without a hitch.

"Yeah, thanks! That was SO awesome!" The others added, spilling like clowns out of her car.

Joey fell over after attempting to stand once he was out of the car.

"Are you okay, Joey?" Jennifer helped him up, chuckling at her dizzy friend.

"Yeah, heh, I'm good!" He stumbled a bit as he waited to follow Adrian and the others as they made their way to the door.

"Is your mom home, Michelle?" Adrian asked, standing by the entrance.

"Not yet. She won't be home for another hour, so I'll leave her a note saying we went to go hang out at the park to study across the street until sundown.

"She's okay with that?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, I'm never late on a school night. Well..." She chuckled. "I've got awesome grades in all my classes. I'll just put it like that."

Sarah grinned and nodded. "Cool."

"So! Time to gear up and get the heck out of here, eh guys?" Michelle opened the front door leading them all inside.

**NEXT UP : "Down the Sewer Hole"**


	2. Down the Sewer Hole

***See Chapter 1 author notes for story origin info**. ** Thank you for reading!** :D

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**The Underground Explorers**

Chapter 2 - Down the Sewer Hole

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"Hey, Raphael, can you help me lift this?" Don peered out from his workshop.

Raph set down the dirty rag he was using to clean his sais with and stood up with a grunt, walking toward him.

"Whatcha need me for, Don?"

"It's my work bench. I wanna shift it to the opposite wall so I'll have more room to move around the examination table." The workbench had been cleared off to make moving it easier; various electrical tools and notebooks set temporarily on the floor beside it.

"Sounds exciting." Raph yawned and stretched his arms up over his head once, cracking his neck to either side to wake himself up. He shook his shoulders and arms out and then moved over to the work bench where Don was motioning him to stand. "Alright...I'm ready." Raph gripped one end of it.

Don placed his hands under the bench from his side and took a deep stance ready to lift the heavy metal object. "Okay, now we lift on the count of three...ready? One, two, th-"

"Three!" Raph heaved a moment before Donatello did, causing Don to stumble and drop his end onto his foot.

"YEE-OW!!!!" Don hopped around in a circle gripping his wounded foot while he cursed under his breath in language that made even Raph blush and grit his teeth.

"oops." Raph stood with his end of the bench still lifted up in the air at a steep angle. "Uh...you gonna be okay, Donny?"

"NO!!!!" Don howled, finally letting his foot go from his grip, and stormed out of the room. Raph set the bench down and lifted his hands in the air apologetically.

"Sheesh! Sorry." Raphael mumbled to the retreating, really pissed off Don.

All around the lair, Don went on a rampage. The preluding shouts and strange new sound of papers being torn up in the main room began to draw the attention of the other curious occupants of the lair.

Michelangelo had walked in from his room rubbing his video-game-over-worked eyes.

"Dudes...Oh, Don...Dude, what are you doing?" He blinked staring at Don as he watched his brother throw a couch pillow hard in Raph's direction before going back to tearing out the pages of a notebook that had been resting on the coffee table in the center of the room.

"I said I was sorry." Raph replied irritated, throwing down the pillow that had been heaved at him which he'd caught mid-air like a football. He half expected Don to tackle him for the "ball" in a follow-up.

"He's ALWAYS doing that!!" Don yelled to no one in particular across the room, tearing out another piece of paper.

"What's that you're destroying there, Don the Barbarian?" Mikey asked with a worried, but somewhat entertained look.

"DONATELLO!" Leo walked into the room straight up to his brother and put his hand on his shoulder. "What's the big deal, eh, brother?"

Donatello spun around to Leo, a piece of paper crumpled in his grip, his face flushed a shade of red giving him a slightly purple look. "He almost broke my foot!"

Don spun back to Raph, striding over to him to poke him in the chest with one thick turtle finger, "I'm getting tired of you being unreliable with the simplest of things! A week ago you did the same thing when I asked you to hold my specimens while I did a test! Yesterday you secretly left your soda in my lab...IN MY FLASK! It blew up in my face when I added the next chemical on my list!" The balled up piece of paper fell to the floor revealing it to be blank as it flowered slowly open.

"Hey, I didn't put my soda in that flask to screw with you! I thought it was a drinking glass and I was coming back for it. I had to get some ice-" Raph growled back at Don, pushing his face closer into his brothers defensively.

"Calm down, Donny." Leo frowned walking over to push him gently away from Raph. "You too Raph. Nobody meant any harm. Come on, breathe it out, both of you. We don't need this right now."

"No offense Mikey," Don said throwing his voice over his shoulder. "But Raph is making you look like a Greek God of Perfection or something...", he stammered.

"Uh, thanks?" Mikey replied a bit sarcastic and but not yet sure as to whether or not he should be totally insulted.

Raph half-heartedly taunted Don back. "You're failing with words now, Don. Greek God of Something? Sheesh. Next time I won't help you when you ask."

"Good!." Don growled back.

Raph snorted and stormed away, managing to pull back his rage, feeling more hurt than angry for once.

"Hey! What's up with you?" Leo confronted Don; in his hand, the blank notebook from which the torn pages had come from.

Mikey watched silently from the couch, fondling the TV remote control, unsure as to whether or not they would have a problem with him watching TV while they argued.

"Nothing, Leo. Nothing."

"It's like Raph infected you with his usual temper. Hell, he didn't even pop this time. You did. And you don't usually blow up like this. Is there something else bothering you?" Leo asked, his voice dropping in volume as he stressed his concern.

"Why don't you ask _him_ that. He's the one screwing things up around here." Don retorted snatching the notebook back from Leo.

"You mean, screwing up _your _things? Come on, Don. You two rarely work together, so maybe he just needs to get more familiar with your style, ya know?"

Don was frowning deeply. "Every time he doesn't pay attention it just tells me that one day he's gonna get me killed in a real fight. It's not like we don't train to be patient and listen. He could use those skills you know, when he's lifting a work bench. Come on! It's not like I asked him to find a neutrino in a haystack for me."

"Not one of us is perfect at paying attention all the time, Don, you know that." Leo replied in a serious tone.

"But _I'm_ not careless with my things. Why can't he do the same? I don't screw his room up or his feet." Don replied; his hands resting on his smooth head in an angry, helpless gesture.

Leo crossed his arms, shifting his weight onto one foot as he targeted in on his suspicion. "This upcoming lair move has really gotten to you hasn't it?", he asked point blank.

"Move? Oh...yeah, that. I don't know." Don let out a big sigh, turning away from Leo.

"It's just that I won't be able to get my workshop in order for a long time after we do it. And I can't even prepare since I have no idea where we're moving to yet!" Walking over the couch to let himself drop down heavily onto it beside Mikey, causing Mikey to slide into him for a second. He spread his arms out to either side of him and leaned his head back, looking up at the ceiling pipes.

"I see." Leo said quietly sitting down next to him on the padded couch arm. "Maybe Raph is having trouble focusing like you are right now."

Don put his face in his hands, leaning forward between his knees. "Maybe..." Leo was usually right.

"We all kinda are, I think." Mikey pursed his mouth not sure if he should add to the discussion.

Raph came back into the room, ignoring everyone as he passed by heading for the kitchen.

"Hey Raph! Can you get me a Coke?" Mikey yelled over.

"Yeah...sure..." Raph grumbled back, opening the fridge with a mean yank.

"Hey Raph..." A faint murmur came from the main room.

"What Mikey?"

"Actually, it's me..."

Realizing it was Donatello's voice, Raph closed the fridge a little too hard making the bottles rattle dangerously for a moment. "Don't wanna hear it, Don. I'm_ this_ close to pullin' out da fists right now." The sound of a soda top being yanked up followed by the hiss of the carbonation escaping could be heard.

Donatello sighed and spoke again with more sincerity, "I'm sorry, Raph."

"Did Leo make you say that?" Raph asked bitterly and coldy as he came back around the corner with Mikey's soda in one hand and a piece of cold pizza in the other.

Donatello stood up from the couch slowly with an apologetic expression. "No. And I am really sorry. I blew my top and you didn't deserve it."

"Damn right I didn't." The scowl on Raph's face seemed burned in and he glared briefly at Don as he got closer, heading for Michelangelo.

"Ooh...my preeecious soda..." Mikey cooed in a fairly good impression of Golem, as Raph handed him his requested drink.

Leonardo quietly moved away from the couch arm where he'd been sitting to give more space to Raph.

"Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for helping me, even if it got screwed up. And I didn't mean what I said." Don was still having a bit of trouble getting the apology out, but it had somewhat of a positive effect on Raph who was faintly visibly more relaxed, albeit still scowling.

"I'm just overwhelmed with how much stuff I'm gonna have to move and how much I'll have to leave behind, and we don't even know how soon we're moving or even where to yet. And the set-up time once we're moved will be just enormous. I mean, what happens if one of us gets injured meanwhile...I mean, really messed up? My examination table, my work bench, analysis computers, prep kit...all of it...we'd be-"

"Try not to stress too much, Donny." Raph interrupted, setting the uneaten slice of cold pizza down on the coffee table, looking right at him. "Hey, I'm sorry too for your...injury. I shoulda' been more patient and listened to ya." Clearing his throat, his gaze suddenly wandering as the apology suddenly became too awkward for him, he stuck his hand out patting Don once on the shoulder.

Leonardo smirked, his eyes focused down at the rug beneath his feet. He knew Raphael hated it when he smiled after any of the brothers stopped fighting for whatever reason. Raph sometimes got ticked off, accusing him of making a "gloating face" after assisting even in the smallest way, when rather it was just an expression of happiness at the peace and growth between them all.

"So, do we at least know what direction we're gonna be settling in yet?" Donatello asked them all.

Leo lifted his brows. "Dunno. Anywhere that's not central subterranean New York. It's been one hell of a convenient blast to be here, but the Foot are trying to find us again, like they did before, and it's only a matter of time before they have this region mapped out. We gotta be somewhere unpredictable or at least, far less central."

"I'm not looking forward to that work commute every day." Raph snorted.

Leo looked up at them. "Well, it might be time that we tried commuting above ground more-so than beneath it. It's not like we don't have the art of invisibility and subterfuge down. And we have one hell of a costume inventory." He chuckled, shooting a smug, crooked grin at Mikey, who was the reason they had so many costume choices.

"You know...Splinter has been gone for quite a while now. It's been almost half the day." Mikey piped back with a bit of concern.

"He's hittin' the outer rim of the city this time...the west side I think. It'll be a long walk there and back again." Don answered, winking at Mikey as he got the Hobbit book reference. Mikey'd been consuming everything Tolkien lately.

"He said he was going to spend more time today searching out a new spot for us. So I figure that if he's not back in another few hours, we'll send out the hounds...so to speak." Leo patted his legs and stood up, walking toward the dojo.

Turning to his brothers with a soft smile, he asked, "Anyone up for a few rounds?"

"I could blow off some steam." Raph admitted, finally letting a smirk show.

"Same here, bro." Donatello stood up as well, slapping Raph's arm with a grin as he passed by heading toward the dojo entrance.

"Yeah, me too. You two got me all stressed out!" Mikey let out an exasperated sigh and shook his head, standing to follow the others into their training room taking his drink with him. He paused, pointing to the tabletop. "Hey, Raph, you gonna eat that piece of cold pizza you left over here?..."

***

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**NEXT UP! : Chapter 3 - "No Man's Land"**


	3. No Man's Land

*** See Chapter 1 for this stories origins info.**

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**The Underground Explorers**

Chapter 3 - No Man's Land

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"Just get me the Cheerios, Aaron." Michelle had her head stuck in the fridge as she tried to find the last of her cheese stash. Her amazonian-thick, long brown hair consumed her lightly tanned face and hazel eyes as her limbs flailed within the cold interior pushing containers aside.

"I'm lookin' but I don't see the box." Aaron replied, his blond head stuck deep in the pantry closet. "It smells like bad flour and nuts in here." He snickered.

"Classy, Aaron." Jennifer guffawed shaking her head but then suddenly countered in a low voice, smirking, "Sick that you know what those smell like, dude.", catching him off-guard without ever looking up at him.

Aaron frowned at her and got instantly quiet as his joke was turned back on him.

She'd never thrown his jokes back before and he wasn't sure which bothered him more - her slick, equally gross comeback or the threat she now posed to his dirty humor.

"A-ha!" Michelle pulled her head out and closed the fridge. "Got em'."

Joey's head was tilted to one side curiously watching the others quickly grab food from the kitchen and set it all in a growing pile on the table. It reminded him of ants.

"What's with the cheese?" Joey asked.

Adrian set a box of multi-grain crackers on the table and turned to go back to the pantry where he and Aaron were spelunking for necessities. "It's a special kind that lasts forever, so we use it all the time...What brand is it again, Michelle?"

Lifting each wedge in the air, one at a time, to show Joey, "Spanish Manchego and the other one is an Old Amsterdam severely aged Gouda I have..."

Michelle set the cheeses down on the table and started helping the others move food from the pantry via assembly line.

"Can I help?" Joey stood awkwardly at one end of the table.

"Does Matt need help in the bathroom?" Sarah asked, feeling as useless as Joey.

Aaron snickered thinking of Sarah's question in an entirely different way, and Michelle just grinned at him shaking her head. "You're gross Aaron."

Overhearing and correcting herself, Sarah replied, "Funny. Seriously though, I was just wondering if I could help. I feel kinda-"

Aaron answered interrupting, still grinning. "Naw, he should be done putting the med-kit together in a sec. He has that packing list memorized."

"Oh, okay. Well I'm gonna grab my gear from my car. I'll be right back." Sarah turned and headed back out the front door.

"Okay, Sarah!" Michelle smiled and glanced up briefly from their task.

"You're such a nerd, Aaron." Jennifer said as she set a handful of washed apples down next to the crackers. Pulling her short, strawberry blond hair back into a cute ponytail, she then began separating everything into food rations for each of them.

"OH! Oh! I found the Cheerios! AND...THIS..." Aaron turned around holding the cereal box in one hand and a box of Fruit By The Foot in the other.

"Whoa! They still sell those?!" Matt asked in awe as he came back in with the restocked med-kit box.

"No...not around here any more." Michelle responded slowly, causing the the others to make grossed-out expressions. "We just forgot we had those. They must've been hiding back there. But hey! They last forever so let's bring 'em. It's not real fruit anyway. It's mostly plastic. Or at least it's something that tastes like plastic..." She mumbled as she walked over to Jennifer and Adrian to help divide up the food.

Matt leaned against kitchen entrance, his peripheral vision keeping a look out for the returning Sarah. "I miss the real fruit roll-ups from back in the 80's. And those Garfield fruit snacks could've taken over the world if we let them.", he mumbled, wistfully thinking.

Aaron shrugged and set the two boxes on the the table next to the girls. "I'll get the snack bags for the cereal."

***

Meanwhile, outside, Sarah reached down under her front seat and pulled out a large, heavy brown canvas backpack.

Closing the car door and re-arming it, she sat down on the curb and began unloading the contents next to her on the cement: A desert camouflage bandana, dura-case flashlight, med-kit, rations brick, black metal blade, large ball of rope, and a small metal container filled with waterproof matches.

"Where is it...?" Her hand swept back into the empty bag which still felt heavy. "Ah! That's right..." She unzipped another compartment underneath the bag that she'd forgotten about and pulled out a rolled up garment.

Shaking it open with one quick whipping motion, she turned it around, smiling. "Cool. I still have it." She set the light-weight military jacket on her lap.

The bag still felt pretty weighted and she scrunched her nose up trying to think of what might still be in there. She dug her hand down into the bottom of each zippered compartment until it banged against something fairly big.

Pulling it out, her eyes became wider as she realized what she held. "PERFECT! Oh wow! The guys are gonna freak..."

Shoving everything back into the bag except for the camo jacket which she slipped into and the bandana which she tied on over her mid-length dark brown hair which was now in a ponytail, she threw the bag over one shoulder and holding the strap, marched back to the house. Slipping her car keys in one velcro pocket of the jacket she opened the door and stepped back inside.

***

"Holy Commando, Batman!" Matt laughed as Sarah entered, her cargo pants, military boots, camo headwear and jacket, and bag making her look like quite the character.

The others paused when she came around the corner into the kitchen. "Whoa. So when's the world ending again?" Aaron laughed, jokingly.

Sarah just smirked back and set her bag next to the others' so they could load it up.

Their packs almost full now, Michelle turned to Jennifer. "I'm gonna grab the map and some extra pens and paper this time." She began to move toward the hallway just outside the kitchen, heading for her room.

Addressing the rest of them, she added, "Since we have so many this time, we should totally split up at some points to map the place out faster."

"If you want, we can use my rope to keep us together better." Sarah offered.

"You have rope? Awesome! Great idea! Okay, I'll be right back!" Michelle disappeared down the hall.

Everyone was zipping up their packs, preparing to head out, when Michelle finally returned. She passed by them all, heading for a kitchen drawer where she withdrew a roll of something and began to tear sections off of it. When she was done, she handed each of them a gel pen and a rolled up piece of heavy-duty wax paper. "Here ya go. Keep them in the top part of your packs."

Their main map, a massive laminated roll of paper intricately recorded on, was slipped down into a custom, home-made denim scroll case and locked against the side of her backpack with velcro straps, along with the permanent marker used to write on it with.

"Water, anyone?" Adrian walked back in from the garage with water bottles and handed them out as everyone fitted their backpacks on.

"Make sure your knives and flashlights are in your jacket or pant pockets so you can grab 'em quick." Matt noted, seeing a few of them take their packs off for a second to pull out those items.

"Alright, so, new people!" Michelle faced Joey and Sarah. "We're gonna enter the wash from my backyard since the back wall is right up against it. When we get back later on, we'll have to exit from the gated end where it connects to the street so we don't freak my mom out. She thinks we're at the park studying so a bunch of ninjas tumbling back into her yard would make her call the cops before she realized it was us." They snickered at the imagery.

"Everybody have what they need?" Jennifer asked getting nods. "Good."

"Alright, here we go." Adrian led the group out the sliding back door to the stone wall just beyond the grass and roses.

"Do you have a name for your group?" Sarah asked as they hopped over the wall.

"The Underground Explorers." Aaron answered. "But that's not really a name we take seriously."

"T.U.E...heh, yeah, but we put those letters on our messages and notes at school when we talk about it." Jennifer smiled as they began the slow, angled decent to the bottom of the concrete wash, about 40 feet down.

"Two days ago, the wash was flooded up to the ten foot line. We're not supposed to get a storm again though for another week, so we're good." Adrian began to pick the pace up, jogging lightly until he landed with both feet on the puddle-ridden dry bottom.

Joey and Sarah both took a good look around themselves noting the seemingly never-ending wash-way that ran north and south, round sewer openings dotting the walls at even intervals and all of them set about eight feet from the bottom of the wash.

"So, I have a surprise." Sarah grinned swinging her pack around to the front of her, pulling out the object she found earlier in her pack.

"WHAT THE-", everyone blurted out getting closer, hands reaching out for it automatically.

Sarah pulled back a bit chuckling.

"Is that what I think it is?" Michelle blinked in awe. "Do they work?"

"Of course. I've only used them once for fun and I forgot I had them."

She held out the pristine pair of military night-vision goggles, turning them so the others could see.

"Where'd you get 'em?!" Matt chirped up, hands flailing.

"From a surplus that was going out of business years ago. I got them for under $50 from the owner's collection, can you believe it?" She handed the pair slowly over to Matt, her smile fading a bit. "Break them and I'll kill you."

"Hell no. I wouldn't dare." Matt breathed as everyone hovered over him. "Can I try them?"

Sarah gently coaxed them back from him, sticking them back in her pack. "Yeah, I'll let you all use them, but not until we're in total darkness, or you won't get the full effect."

"I like her!" Michelle laughed, giving Jennifer a nudge, as they made their way to one of the tunnel entrances, crawling up the slanted wall a bit to reach the gaping, black hole.

At it's eastern entrance, no one looked back except for the two new additions to the party.

"It's smaller than I thought." Sarah commented, ducking her head a bit as she followed behind them in the narrow tunnel. "I thought we'd be able to stand up straight."

"Not for a while. Well, we can stand up beneath the manholes to stretch and get fresher air, but the tunnels won't widen until we get closer to the central underground." Adrian answered her, moving steadily forward.

"No man's land!" Matt, Aaron, and Adrian sang out as they moved in deeper, their voices taking on a strange, garbled echo effect.

"Sarah and Joey, move up so you're behind Jenn and I. You shouldn't be at the back for your first time." Michelle called back to them as they began to slide against the tunnel wall, heading for her.

"Shut up, Aaron." Jennifer called back at him, who was snorting in dirty, wicked laughter at Michelle's last comment.

Sarah kicked through the shallow, milky moving water that ran along the bottom of the concrete pipe, the rim of her pant legs getting damp from the spray. "How long till we hit the taller ceilings?"

"It'll be about an hour or so." Adrian adjusted his backpack. "Don't worry, we'll have a few stops before then, plus there's this awesome place you gotta see."

"Oh yeah! The first time we tried to go above and check our position and instead we found it..." Aaron added excitedly, holding back from revealing too much.

A faint breeze moved past them coming from a manhole nearby. The tunnel's ceiling was fairly low though so it was hard to tell where the manhole was but for a pale light on the ground far up ahead.

"Whoa, it smells like the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in here!" Joey laughed waving his hand in front of his nose.

"Dar! Turn back now or face me squirrels!" Aaron yelled up to him doing a horrible old english accent.

"Dude, you totally botched that. It's 'There be squalls ahead' followed by something about Davy Jones..." Matt corrected Aaron.

"Whatever. It's hard to hear that skull talk anyway. They screwed that ride up with all their so-called upgrades." Aaron huffed.

Snickering, the others kept moving.

"I'm surprised that we don't need flashlights yet. The light from the street drains and manholes is enough." Sarah marveled.

Adrian nodded. "For now, yeah. When we branch off this main pipe, the intervals get fewer and farther plus the sun will be setting in a couple hours, so that'll call out the flashlights if nothing else."

They finally came up to the manhole they had seen from a distance and took turns standing up under it to get air and stretch their necks and backs.

***

An hour later, the tunnel widened a bit and the gang could finally walk without hinderance. Up to three of them could walk comfortably side by side.

"So, off to the left is where we went for about ten minutes exploring when we found the most amazing place ever..." Michelle motioned toward the large sewer opening next to them. There seemed to be nothing special about it, but when she walked in, the others followed closely behind without hesitation.

The darkness consumed them only a few feet in and one by one, flashlights went on.

"We take the third right..." Michelle narrated for Sarah and Joey as they indeed turned into that tunnel.

"Then the first left...", continuing as they all made the turn; their footsteps echoing oddly through the tunnels.

"Wow! It's amazing how much of this place you've all memorized. You haven't even pulled the map out yet!" Joey observed, sloshing through the milky, slightly odiferous sewage that coated the floor.

Suddenly, he slipped on a slime patch, landing on his back and knocking Sarah over in the process. "Crap!"

"Ouch! And I hope that wasn't crap you stepped in, Joey. Ugh...so gross." Sarah rubbed her jaw where he'd accidentally elbowed her and shook the back of her jacket off briskly as she stood back up.

"Sorry." Joey peeped in a pitiful tone.

"No worries. Just be careful." Sarah moved to walk next to him instead of behind him like she had been.

A sliver of pale green light appeared up ahead.

"Is that where we're going?" Joey asked.

"Actually, we're turning into the tunnel to the right of it, but it's not much further. The light you see isn't from the street above... You'll see." Adrian smiled in the darkness, leading the way.

"So...it's not from a drain or manhole?...A crack?...A fairy?..." Joey continued to query an unresponsive audience for answers.

"Any reason why we aren't using the night-vision goggles yet?" Aaron whined impatiently.

"Cuz I say so." Sarah laughed, enjoying the darkness as they made the next turn, the sliver of light becoming smaller behind them as they walked.

***

* * *

**NEXT UP! : The Forgotten City**


	4. The Forgotten City

*** See Chapter 1 for this story's origins info.**

* * *

**The Underground Explorers**

Chapter 4 - The Forgotten City

* * *

Splinter had been wandering for a long time, his steps slow and the lair far behind him.

_Nothing..._

Tunnel after tunnel he had assessed with no results. No potentials. Another day gone. Another day closer to being found by the Hunters.

The Hunters - a league of blood-thirsty, mutated Foot with twisted bodies of various shapes and sizes. Some were lean and tall like burnt, stretched, warped taffy. Some were short and overly muscled to the point of no return. All were horrific in appearance, missing parts of their faces, and lacking any sign of humanity. They seemed almost unaware of the unaltered Foot they traveled with and they traveled fast.

Not only had the Foot tracked them down at the last two seemingly-perfect spots they'd chosen to reside in, but they were getting close to doing it again. He had to find a less predictable solution...

There was an old subway station that had long been unused. But something about it felt too open...as if the ground above it was too thin. They needed something that had weight to it, not mystique, and was defendable.

Besides, it was too easy to get to.

The stale, milky water sloshed as he moved through it, peering into every corner, down every path, as he went on.

_We're running out of time...and options._

He had been considering the possibilities and execution of attempting an above-ground existence, however, it kept weighing on him in a bad way. Too risky. Too easily might the Foot find and destroy them with so many eyes potentially on them up there.

Do they seek a so-called haven in an abandoned building? Do they bar the doors, shade the windows, and alarm the building? That looks suspicious and curious to the outside world. And to surface gangs.

All it would take was one lead, one question and an answer. And the Hunters...the Foot...everyone, would be at their doorstep.

Buildings are so easy to detonate. Especially while he and his sons were sleeping...

Splinter growled and stopped himself from digging his rough, thick yellow nails into his palms. _No..._

He had paused in thought for a moment and looked down as the water moved around his toes suddenly.

It was subtle. But it sent a jolt of hot fear straight into his core and he pulled quickly into the shadows, pressing himself against the wall of the tunnel and out of sight...he hoped.

There was no sound, but the shift in the motion of the water told him that there was another large entity, or more than one other, nearby - perhaps only a handful of tunnels away and north of him.

Construction workers?

He sniffed the air. _No. Their familiar scent and commotion would have already reached him if it were._

It was not the rhythmic motion of an animal - A dog or raccoon wouldn't make such jagged undulations. Not down here. They were the hunters. The hunted made movements far smaller...as he now did.

Perhaps the others did not know he was down here to make such obvious disturbance to the surroundings. But it could be a trap.

Rarely caught unprepared, Splinter slid the darts between each of his fingers of his left hand, gripping them in preparation to throw; their poisoned tips pointing outward into the blackness, toward any target he wished to call his own.

A secondary comfort rested against his right hand - his tanto.

His ears twitched as he strained to hear..

***

"Man, I love New York." Adrian shook his head to get his long brown hair out of his face.

"I can't tell if you're smiling or not." Michelle smirked at him.

"Oh, I'm smiling. You know I am." Adrian chuckled.

"Yeah...hey, you wanna piece of cheese? I got hungry and had to chow down on somethin'." Michelle asked as she walked beside him, brushing the food against his hand so he could feel where it was.

"Sure. Thanks." He broke off a small piece with his thumb and forefinger and popped it in his mouth. "Ah, yes. The aged Gouda." He said in a bad British accent and snickered.

"With all that cheese you brought, you'd think we wanted the rats comin' to us." Aaron grinned in darkness.

"Funny." Jennifer nudged him in the arm with her elbow.

"Wow. What was that? Feels like you just bumped me with a cold, dead cat head." Aaron and Matt cackled.

"Ew! W.T.F. Aaron?" Jennifer laughed and nudged him harder.

Joey laughed and snorted, which made everyone laugh at that.

***

Splinter heard the barely audible, haunting, watery, and undefined sound of a cluster of voices. From his position, he could make out the tones as definitively coming from larger entities. Human or monster, he couldn't tell. The hairs on his back stood up as he suddenly sensed that he was being followed as well, but the uncertainty of his situation was the most unnerving.

Should he run? Should he pursue the source of the voices in hopes that he might be able to confirm the source and that he might manage to slip away to get word back to his sons?

***

"Guys, this is so cool." Joey remarked as soon as he caught his breath.

"Would be better with the night-vision goggles." Matt added half-jokingly, shining his flashlight into Aaron's eyes.

"Dude!"

Matt snickered and lowered the flashlight as Sarah just shook her head, smirking, her night-vision goggles safely tucked away for now.

"Okay, guys, we're going up." Clinging with one hand to a rung of a smooth, metal, vertical ladder of a manhole shaft, Michelle called down to them.

Jennifer, who was just below Michelle, held out her hand to Sarah, beckoning her.

"I thought we'd be traveling down here for a lot longer." Sarah replied as she began to climb, the top of the manhole already opening above her head oddly revealing more darkness despite it being daylight still outside.

"Oh, we will. This is a pit stop." Michelle called back down as the last glimpse of her feet disappeared above into whatever place they were being lead to.

One by one they followed, up the ladder, until the last one had made his way up.

The darkness began to fade as their eyes adjusted to what seemed to be a dusty room of undetermined size.

"Where are we?" Joey and Sarah asked in unison, looking around.

"You'll see." Michelle replied in a quiet, mysterious voice, sliding slowly away from everyone.

***

* * *

**NEXT UP! : The Green House**


End file.
